Wonderland Burlesque's Let's All Go To The Movies: She's A Lady! - Part XL

Wonderland Burlesque's

Let's All Go To The Movies

She's A Lady!

Part XL

Yes, sometimes? It takes a lady.

Or so these films would have us believe.

They promise lots of drama, the occasional comedy or musical, and a little bit of dirt!

Let's take a walk down Hollywood Blvd. and shine a light on these magnificent classic films.

This way, if you please. But remember...

Ladies first!

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Lady Luck

(1936)

A female movie-star wannabe holds a winning ticket for a race won by champion racehorse, Lady Luck. Things get complicated when a slimy sportsman is found shot to death and the murder weapon is found in the hand of the starlet. A sharp reporter tries to figure out who is the real killer..

Made by Chesterfield Motion Pictures Corporation, this American comedy film directed by Charles Lamont and stars Patricia Farr, William Bakewell and Duncan Renaldo.

Patricia Farr was an American film actress who appeared in films of the 1930s and 1940s. Lucky Lady is one of her only roles as a leading lady and very little is known about her. Hailing from Ogden, UT (where her great grandfather had once been mayor), she was discovered working as a movie theater usherette in Los Angeles when she was first signed by Paramount Pictures. After a turn at Universal doing the serial Tailspin Tommy, she received training at a company school at Fox Studios for their stock actors.

As a young actress in 1936, Farr was speaking about Friday the 13th when she chose that day to sign a long-term contract with Columbia Pictures, being quoted as saying it "is my lucky day". Farr eventually married to Robert Mayo, a casting director with Columbia Pictures.

She showed great promise, even in minor roles. The Sydney Morning Herald reported on her work in Lady Behave! (1937), writing, "Patricia Farr has the makings of first-class comedienne." They praised her for extracting more out of her role than was expected. Farr died on February 23, 1948 of unknown causes. She was only 35 years old.

You can watch this film in its entirety for free on Youtube.

Patricia Farr

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Lady Liberty

(1971)

AKA: La Mortadella

Maddalena and Michele fall in love in Italy in the 1960s, while working at a meat factory in Emilia which is dealing with a worker's strike. But Maddalena and Michele's love cannot be; he is married and Italy does not allow divorces. So she persuades him to move to the US, where she joins him four years later, bringing with her a Mortadella (a large salami) as a present. But there's a problem; customs will not allow foreign processed meat to enter the US, so she is not allowed to enter the country. Held at JFK airport, Maddalena refuses to give in, for she is a very strong woman! While waiting out the ordeal, she discovers the truth about Michele along with a few things about the US.

This Italian-French comedy was directed by Mario Monicelli, and stars Sophia Loren, William Devane, Gigi Proietti, Susan Sarandon, Danny DeVito and Edward Herrmann.

This served as Edward Herrmann's film debut. He portrays an airport cop who befriends Sophia Loren's character as she waits at JFK. 

A song by Harry Nilsson, I Guess the Lord Must Be in New York City, was included in the movie.

The New York Times was scathing in its review of the film, observing that "Probably no other woman has so triumphantly survived as many rotten movies in such a short space of time as Sophia Loren." Although "the farcical premise is promising" it was "a comedy that manages to be both too serious and not serious enough and that, at no point matches the level of the humor and intelligence of its principal performance". It also questioned "the grindingly bleak New York settings in which so much of the film is set".

Mortadella is a large salami made of finely hashed or ground cured pork, which incorporates at least 15% small cubes of pork fat. It is traditionally flavored with peppercorns.

You can watch this film in its entirety for free on Youtube.

Sophia Loren

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Lady Ice

(1973)

An insurance investigator romances a wealthy young beauty when he suspects she may be involved in fencing stolen jewels.

This American crime film was directed by Tom Gries, and stars Donald Sutherland, Jennifer O'Neill and Robert Duvall.

George Lucas was offered the chance to direct, but he turned it down in favor of focusing on finding a studio for American Graffiti (1973)

Jennifer O'Neill replaced Susan George as the leading lady of this film due to the height difference between George and leading man, actor Donald Sutherland, whose height at the time measured about six-foot-four-inches.

The second of four films  Robert Duvall and Donald Sutherland would appear in together. The others: M*A*S*H (1970), The Eagle Has Landed (1976) and Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1978).

You can watch this film in its entirety for free on Youtube.

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Lady Street Fighter

(1980)

AKA: Woman In Anger

Exotic Eastern European beauty, Linda Allen, flies in to Los Angeles to track down the evil mobsters who tortured and murdered her sister. Meanwhile, the mobsters are trying to find a tape with information that would be incriminating to them. Linda's investigation deals with a pimp who may be the murderer she is after, and a helpful FBI agent who may not be the crime hunter he pretends to be.

This martial arts crime thriller was directed by James Bryan and stars Renee Harmon, Joel D. (Jody) McCrea, Jr., Trace Carradine, and Liz Renay. It was written by its star, Renee Harmon.

This film was shot in 1975 under the title Deadly Games. This title was later changed to "Lady Streetfighter" to capitalize on the then hot martial arts movie craze.

The film ends with an unfulfilled promise: 'Watch for The Return of Lady Streetfighter coming this fall." It never happened.

You can watch this film in its entirety for free on Youtube.

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Lady, Stay Dead

(1981)

AKA: Murder Game, The Malibu Killer, The Rapist, Deadly Trap, The Night of the Apocalypse

A Young woman is looking after her sister's house, unaware that her sister and neighbor have been murdered by their handyman who also happens to be a serial killer.

This Australian Ozploitation thriller was produced, written and directed by Terry Bourke and stars Chard Hayward, Louise Howitt, Deborah Coulls, and Roger Ward.

The film's leads were taken from Australian television - Chard Hayward, Louise Howitt, James Elliott and Deborah Coulls.

Roger Ward later recalled that Terry Bourke was so enthusiastic about the fish tank murder scene that he refused to call cut until he was satisfied, and that Deborah Coulls, who did the stunt herself, nearly drowned while enacting it.

The picture was the winner of the Best Thriller award at the Fantafestival in Rome, Italy. It was director Terry Bourke's final film.

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And that's all for now, folks!

Tune in next time...

Same place, same channel.

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Lady, Stay Dead - Movie Trailer

(1981)